Presiding officers in the National Assembly have expressed sadness over the passing of struggle veteran and former MP Rita Ndzanga.
Ndzanga, who served in the first, second, and third democratic parliament died on Wednesday in Johannesburg. She was 89.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said in a statement on Thursday: “Mama Ndzanga, an anti-apartheid struggle activist and fierce unionist, played a crucial role in organising and forming labour movements to resist apartheid brutality in the workplace in the 1950s.
“She dedicated her life as an unflinching combatant of our liberation and as a quintessential legislator of our post-apartheid and democratic parliament.”
Mothapo praised Ndzanga for being one of the phenomenal legislators who paved the way for future MPs, saying the late struggle veteran “blazed a trail for future parliamentarians”.
“She served as a member of the first, second, and third democratic parliament and played a critical role in setting up oversight mechanisms, public participation systems, and law-making processes.
“With her calm and profound intellectual depth, Mrs Ndzanga brought passion, care and humanity to her role as a people’s representative. She was an embodiment of unmatched integrity, love, selflessness and loyalty to the course of freedom and prosperity of her people.”
Ndzanga is widely known for her activism toward the liberation and rights of workers and women. She was also an advocate for a non-racial, non-sexist, free, and democratic South Africa.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, political home the African National Congress and the nation. May her soul rest in peace,” said Mothapo.
Ndzanga, who was born in 1933 in Ventersdorp in the North West, was involved in the formation of the South African Congress of Trade Unions during the 1950s. She was detained under the Terrorism Act for 18 months in 1969 as a result of her activism and for being a unionist. In 1976, Ndzanga was detained again on allegations of recruiting students for military training.
In 1984, she was elected as part of the inaugural leadership of the Federation of Transvaal Women alongside anti-apartheid activist Sister Bernard Ncube and Albertina Sisulu.
She also served as the chairperson and treasurer of the Senaone branch of the ANC Women’s League. The branch has been renamed and is now known as the Lawrence Ndzanga branch. It was named after her husband who passed away in January 1977.
In recognition of her contribution to the attainment of freedom and justice, former president Thabo Mbeki awarded Ndzanga the Order of Luthuli in 2004 while she was serving in the National Assembly.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said: “Mom Ndzanga’s resolute conviction in the cause of justice and liberation and her determined struggle in the face of relentless state persecution and harassment stand out as an example of triumph of the human spirit over the forces of suffering, cruelty, and oppression.
“Her indomitable spirit is a reflection of the innate and most human yearning to be free. She remains an embodiment of our highest ideals and inspiration to all South Africans.”
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